Child's Play
by Jui-Imouto-Chan
Summary: Sabo found a 7 year-old in the Revolutionary Army's base. He knows Fire Fist Ace. And him, somehow. Sabo has many questions and the fact that this kid is also apparently a 17 year-old rookie pirate does not answer any of them.
1. Wrapped Around His Little Rubber Fingers

**I'm not entirely satisfied with this first chapter. Sabo didn't feel right, Dragon didn't feel right, Luffy is... Luffy. Also, weird things usually happen in the One Piece world, so my Sabo can get rid of shock pretty quickly.**

 _Sabo found a 7 year-old in the Revolutionary Army's base. He knows Fire Fist Ace. And him, somehow. Sabo has many questions and the fact that this kid is also apparently a 17 year-old rookie pirate does not answer any of them._

* * *

"Why do I have to be the one to deal with the kid?"

"Because children always run away from me, Hack is out right now, and because I said so."

"Koala... I don't want to..."

Koala gave Sabo a 'look'.

The blonde whined childishly while the redhead shook her head. A thought popped into her head and she snickered behind her hand.

 _Kids listen to bigger kids, after all._

* * *

After running around the base for more than an hour, Sabo was finally able to tack down the kid. It appeared the people working in the kitchen had been feeding him, and by the stacks of plates, Sabo realized that the kid ate a _lot_.

Sabo and Dragon ate the most out of everyone here, with Dragon beating Sabo out by only 20 plates on a bad day. But this kid would definitely give Dragon a run for his money, no doubt.

Sabo strolled over to the child, who was beginning to slow down in his consumption, and sat on the bench beside him. The kid slurped down his last plate, which was full of noodles, before turning to him with a bright expression.

"Hi, who are you?"

"My name is Sabo." He paused as he noticed the confusion in the little boy's eyes, "But it's more polite to say your name first."

"My name is Luffy! You know, your name is the same as my brother's! You even look like him, except, big." At the last word, Luffy through his arms apart to explain his idea of big.

Sabo couldn't help but chuckle, amused by the cute little boy. Strangely enough, however, he felt something fluttering in the back of his head.

"Well, Luffy, can I ask where you came from?"

"I came from someone's belly-at least, that's what Ace said! I don't believe him, though, because why would someone eat me?"

Sabo was curious as to who this "Ace" was, so he asked. (The name rung a bell... Fire Fist? An image of a freckled child flashed in his mind, but disappeared too quickly for him to grasp it.) "Who's Ace?"

"Ace is one of my big brothers! He's really grumpy, but I think that he's just upset that he gets nap attacks all the time!"

"Nap attacks?"

"He falls asleep everywhere! It's really funny, especially when Sabo lets me have the marker!"

While the child had mentioned his brother having the same name as him, it was still weird to hear it like that.

"Well, Luffy, how did you get in here?" _Time for business._ Sabo thinks, _I need to know how he got in here._

"I was going hunting again, and I was going to beat this huuuuge crocodile, but then Ace was a jerk and I got eaten again!"

 _Again?!_

Sabo felt like he was overreacting to this information, but he shoved that thought aside because, _no_ , children _should not_ get eaten _multiple times_! "And then?"

"And I woke up and was hungry so I followed the sound of food!"

"I don't think food makes sounds, Luffy."

"But they do! They say my name!" Luffy grinned and made his voice a bit ghostly, " _Luffy, Luffy... Come eat us, Luffy... Luffy~~_ "

Sabo burst out laughing, swinging an arm around Luffy's shoulders, who began laughing, too.

 _God, this kid is adorable!_

Once he calmed down, he released the child and straightened; he felt oddly connected to Luffy already.

"Hey, Luffy, I'm going to have you meet someone, okay?"

"Okay!"

* * *

"Wait here."

"Whaaat? But Saboooo, I don't wanna be alone... Can't you take me with you?" Luffy whined, big eyes staring up sadly.

"It'll only be a minute. If I'm not here in a minute, you can, uh... Come in? I guess?" Yeah, Sabo didn't have the authorization to say that. But, there was something about the way Luffy talked about being alone that struck a chord in him. Like, he'd heard it before...

"Okay, but Ace never taught me to count more than ten, and keeps messing Sabo up when he tries to teach me more."

"Just, uh, count to ten six times." Wow, Sabo will need to try to educate Luffy for however long he'll be here. Only ten?

"Yeah!"

Luffy sat on the floor while Sabo slipped into the room after a curt knock.

.

"Dragon-san, I found the kid. He says his name is Luffy and does not appear to be here with any ill-intent." Sabo explained briefly.

"...Luffy? Are you certain that that is his name?" Dragon brought his hands up to his face and rested his chin upon them, eyes interested yet a bit confused.

"Yes. He appears to be around 7 or 8 years old, but I am not sure. I can ask him." the blonde offered.

"What?" Dragon stood up, eyebrows scrunched and his face expressing disbelief. He collected himself quickly, "Bring him in here, please."

"Understood."

.

"One, three, four, two, six, five, seven, eight, nine, ten! I think that was six times?" Luffy jumped up off the floor and turned to the door expectantly. "Sabo! It's been a minu-" Luffy was cut off by a door hitting him in the face. Sabo, eyes wide, quickly knelt down to the fallen child on the floor, muttering apologies with guilt welling up inside of him.

Only, as he raised the boy's torso, he realized that the raven hadn't noticed the impact the door had made. "Oi, Sabo, that wasn't nice!" It was then that the child took notice of the man in the room behind the open door. "Who are you, old man?"

"My name is Monkey D. Dragon. I take it that you are Luffy?"

"Hey, you have the same last name as me and Grandpa! You shouldn't copy people, old man!"

Sabo choked on his spit, in a mix of shock and laughter.

"Yes, that usually happens when people are related. It's nice to finally meet you, Luffy."

"Ehhh? We're related?" Luffy's mouth dropped open and his eyes were wide.

"Yes, I am your father." Dragon's smirk was a bit softer than usual.

"What?! You had a son?! How is he only seven if you haven't left the base without any of us over the past eight years?" Sabo shouted, his confusion palpable. Indeed, Dragon was always accompanied by one of the Revolutionaries, which wouldn't provide Dragon any time to create life. (Sabo was mortified by even thinking about any of this, as he _really_ does not want to have to ponder Dragon's _personal matters_.)

"He's actually seventeen." the dark-haired man glanced down at the child. "At least, he should be."

"What's that supposed to mean? Are you making fun of me? Only Ace can do that!"

Sabo let out an exaggerated sigh and looked at the kid. "Let's contact 'Ace', now, okay?"

"How are we going to do that? Are you tella-telo-teleportic?"

"No Luffy, and it's 'telepathic'; we're going to use our snail phone and dial up Whitebeard."

"Who's that?" Luffy began picking his nose, to which Dragon snorted and patted the kid's head as he began walking towards the cafeteria.

"Fire-Fist Ace's captain." said Sabo, grabbing Luffy's hand with his own and leading the child to the communications room.


	2. Angry Ace is Best Ace

Luffy pursed his lips in thought as he was lead into the Communications Room. "Ace's Captain..." His troubled eyes moved themselves to lock with Sabo's blue ones. "Ace wouldn't have a captain! He's only 10, and he's waiting to become a pirate until he's 17! He doesn't even want me or Sabo to be the captain, so why would he...?!" Luffy trailed off, not knowing what else to say to get his point across.

Sabo pressed his lips together, a weak smile being directed at the seven year-old holding his hand. "It's just a guess, but I can't imagine a child like you having a normal brother. Fire-Fist Ace probably wouldn't come after my head if I just ask; I've heard he's actually rather polite."

"Ace would probably kill you if you try to talk to him for no reason." Luffy said bluntly. He paled rapidly. "He's going to kill me for getting eaten again. Crap! Sabo, you've gotta help me!"

Sabo sweatdropped, laughing nervously. "I'm sure he'll be relieved that you're okay. And he won't be able to kill me.-" _Probably._ "I'm not the second-in-command for no reason."

"Does that mean you're strong?" Luffy asked with a shine in his eyes.

Sabo grinned, poking the child's forehead. "Very strong."

"Then," Luffy began, excitement in his voice, "Join my crew!"

The blonde paused, mouth going dry as he stared intently at Luffy. He tried to speak up, stumbling over incoherent phrases as _something_ in his mind tugged. There was a moment where he was about to respond, though he didn't know if he was going to be affirmative in his reply.

Someone saved him from having to speak,

"Ah, Sabo! Who do you need to call?"

Luffy quickly shifted his attention to the speaker, one of Sabo's many acquaintances in the Army, to Sabo's relief.

"Whitebeard, please." the blonde said, flashing a relieved smile at the other adult.

The man seemed like he wanted to question him, but thought against it. "Here you go." He passed Sabo a Transponder Snail.

"Thank you."

.

 _KACHA!_

"Whitebeard's ship. This is Marco, yoi." The transponder snail's eyes became half-lidded in a sleepy expression.

"Hello, this is Sabo from the Revolutionary Army. Pretty upfront in your greetings, aren't ya?"

"You're one to talk, yoi." The response was laid back, casual, and immediate. Sabo knew that he and this man could be great friends from just this sentence alone.

"Well, pleasantries aside, is there any possibility of me speaking to Fire-Fist Ace?"

"Yeah, I'll call him over." There was a muffled shout of Ace's name on the other side of the line, and the snail suddenly sported freckles and had a bright expression.

"Hello, Ace speaking."

"Hello Ace, my name is-"

"Ace please don't kill me!"

"...Luffy?"

* * *

I could have ended this here. MISSED OPPORTUNITIES!

* * *

Ace was talking with Thatch when Marco called him over, DenDen in hand.

"It's for you, yoi." said the Phoenix, handing him the snail, which wore a familiar top hat and had a burn scar over its left eye.

Ace accepted it, patting Marco's shoulder as the blonde left, then greeted the person on the other side.

"Hello, Ace speaking."

"Hello Ace, my name is-"

The Transponder Snail suddenly switched to having a scar that immediately put Ace on Red Alert.

"Ace please don't kill me!"

It took him a moment to process who that voice belonged to. (It was so much younger than he remembered...)

"...Luffy?"

"Eh, Ace, you sound different!"

"Luffy why do _you_ sound different?! You sound like you're seven!"

"I _am_ seven!"

"...What."

"So, I take it he's not supposed to be seven years old?" adds in the other person.

"He's supposed to be _seventeen_."

"Well, all I can say is that it is not my fault."

Ace took a deep breath, pinching his nose with his face scrunched up in an expression of frustration. He let out a sigh. "And what was your name? Sorry, I forgot to ask."

"My name is Sabo." Ace had a sudden intake of breath. "Anyway, Luffy said that he was eaten by a crocodile... again... and that you would probably kill him if you found out. You... aren't going to do that, are you?" Sabo, unknown by Ace, pulled Luffy closer to him in an unconsciously protective manner.

"No, I won't kill him. Now, Sabo," his voice shook as he said the name of his deceased best friend, "I'm going to need you to _pick me the fuck up. Right. Now._ " he snarled.

"Um, alright?" the scarred man squeaked.

"Ace, please don't kill him, he acts _just like our Sabo_! I like him and I want him to join my crew so he can't die, okay?" Luffy piped.

The snail in Sabo's hand was glaring directly at Luffy. Luffy pushed his body behind Sabo with a tiny, adorable shriek.

"I'll try." Ace ground out.

* * *

Marco watched as Ace stomped away from the Transponder Snail that he all but slammed onto the counter, as if it had done him a personal wrong.

Thatch, meanwhile, could not sense the mood, and swung his arm around Ace's shoulder jovially. "Hey, Ace, what was that about?"

Ace's shoulders shook before they burst into flame. Thatch screeched and tore his arm away, swinging it up and down to try and kill the fire that caught his sleeve.

"Ace, are you trying to kill me?!"

Ace twitched before his eyes locked onto anyone nearby, hostility and aggravation swirling in to make silver appear as a demonic red.

"Maybe." he growled.

He then proceeded to his room, leaving scorch marks on the wooden deck, to the crew's dismay. Whitebeard just chuckled a bit, unperturbed by the anger of his son, and took a large swig from his cup while his children weren't paying attention.

"I saw that, Oyaji." Marco stated.

 _...Damn._

"It's just one cup of sake, Marco." Newgate tried to reason.

"Which should make it easier to put down, yoi." his son countered.

Whitebeard sighed heavily, giving a last forlorn look to his cup, before placing it on the floor.

He's proud of Marco, yes, _but did his observation haki have to be used for his liquor?_

* * *

"Well, Luffy, it seems that we'll have to go visit your brother."

"Ooh, are we going to see his captain, Wheat Bread?" Luffy's eyes had stars sparkling in them. Sabo laughed and patted his head, then crouched to Luffy's level.

"Yes, and his name is Whitebeard. He's the strongest man in the world."

"Really?" his voice was filled with excitement, and his smile was so bright that Sabo almost had to look away.

"Yes."

"Do you think he'll join my crew?"

Sabo fell over, but quickly sat up and looked at Luffy with bewildered eyes. He saw the seriousness in the child's expression, and just felt something tingling in the back of his head. _What is it? Why do I feel like I've heard these things before?"_

"You sure are an interesting kid, Luffy. I can't wait to see what the future has in store for you!" Sabo chuckled.

Luffy's eyes shone in recognition, as if recalling something.

Sabo couldn't help but wonder what it was.

* * *

Luffy blinked as he woke up to find two bodies sleeping on top of his.

He kept blinking, confusion settled in his face.

He tilted his head.

"...Ace, Sabo?"


	3. The Awakened(Memories)

**To the guest reviewer who mentioned Sabo already hearing about Luffy being 17:**

 **Sabo was in a bit of shock, in a way. He'd gotten over it by the time Ace said it, and he was trying to lighten the situation (but was also kinda wanting to make sure he'd heard right).**

 **Thanks for mentioning it—if it confused anyone else, then they have this author's note to explain it.**

 **Also, I can't believe you guys gave me _19 reviews_ with only _two_ chapters! I'm just so happy right now I can't. I really hope you guys like this story and read it to the end.**

* * *

By the time Sabo had arrived at the Moby Dick, Ace had (literally and figuratively) cooled down quite a bit. Some of the newer members of Whitebeard's crew tensed, as if expecting an attack from the Revolutionary ship, but after Sabo boarded with Luffy in tow, they tossed the idea out of the window.

"Oh, shit, I was hoping that this was a joke. I would fry your ass, but at least Luffy would be full grown, and, y'know, not a midget." His eyebrow had a noticeable twitch, straining his self control to keep himself in check. "Are you... S-Sabo?" His voice was _not_ shaking, dammit! He was unsure how he would feel if this guy, who looked like what he would imagine Sabo as an adult would, had that name, too. Slug him. Yeah, he would probably slug him.

"Yeah, that's me. Hey, Luffy, this is the Ace you were looking for, right?" Ace lifted his fist, blowing on it in preparation for the punch he was about to deliver, when he directed his attention to Luffy and the question Sabo asked.

Luffy looked over the raven-haired man in front of him, hand loosely wrapped around Sabo's pointer finger. "Nope."

Many of the Whitebeard pirates nearby face-planted at the blunt answer.

Ace crouched down in front of his little...r brother, grinning.

"Luffy, I can prove that it's me." Sabo raised a brow. Ace pulled Luffy closer and whispered, "Sake."

"YOU _ARE_ ACE!" said the child as he stretched his arms around Ace's neck and wrapped his legs around the older's stomach, hugging him. Sure, he was older, but he was still Ace. Wait, did that mean that this Sabo was his Sabo?

It took only a few seconds for Luffy to realize that Ace would probably hit him if he remained clinging to him like a leaf to a tree.

"Ace," Luffy began, eyes tearing as he looked up at his older brother. "Please don't kill me."

Ace was silent for a minute, during which everyone around was inching closer, ready to pull the little boy in case Ace actually _did_ want to kill him. Luffy's eyes glittered, and Ace met his stare unwaveringly...or so it appeared.

"You... are so _fucking_ cute." Ace muttered, before crushing Luffy against his chest with sparkling eyes, red cheeks, and a sappy smile. A trickle of blood was coming from his nose, and Luffy was struggling in his arms as his oxygen intake was decreasing alarmingly quickly.

" _Help_ ," he wheezed, " _I think...he's...killing me._ " Sabo's face contorted in alarm and he immediately attempted to pry Luffy out of Ace's arms.

Ace, unaware of Luffy's soon-to-be death, growled at the blonde, his eyes burning as he glared. He pulled Luffy tighter against his muscular frame, deaf to the little 'squeak' sound the rubber body made, akin to a chew toy.

Sabo glared right back at the freckled pirate, "He's suffocating, Fire Fist."

Ace looked down at the child in his arms and immediately released him as he took into account the blueness that replaced his skin tone. "Shit, I'm so sorry, Luffy!"

Luffy huffed in an attempt to regain the oxygen in his lungs, eyes wide with fear. "I'm... not... dead...? I thought... I was a goner!"

There were a few chuckles from the crew surrounding the trio, but they were mostly strained and nervous. While they had trust in Ace, they also knew that he adored his little brother to the point of some dubbing it a complex. And this was a child version of that very person, so they had their worries.

.

After the commotion had died down, Marco lead the sulking Ace _(He almost killed his little brother, dammit!)_ and Sabo to a room away from the majority of the pirates, with Luffy sitting atop the phoenix's shoulders, playing with his "pineapple" hair. Marco did his best to ignore the teasing looks he'd get from Thatch, who was tailing the group.

"So, uh, Sabo..." Ace began. "I take it that Luffy's told you about someone else with that name?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, his older brother. By the way, which one of you is older?"

"Was. And, I think it'd me." It didn't seem like Sabo was their Sabo. But Ace felt something was off with that thought. But Sabo had _died_ , and this was just the biggest coincidence _-it had to be!_

"What do you mean, _was_?"

Ace leaned closer, whispering in the blonde's ear grimly. "He died. He was forced to go back to his noble family, and he tried to escape or something by fleeing out to sea. His ship was shot down by a Tenryuubito. That's what one of our- _caretakers?-_ told us."

Sabo's breath hitched. "I..."

"What is it?" Ace asked, concerned.

"Where did this happen?" Sabo's inquired frantically, his eyes wide, hair in his fingers and exhales ragged and shallow.

Ace's steps faltered. Luffy was peering back at them, as if he could sense the tension, and tugged on Marco's hair to get him to stop.

Ace put his hand on Sabo's shoulder, stopping the Revolutionary's movements. "Are you okay?" he asked, instead of answering Sabo's question.

Sabo's expression became desperate, his mind trying to fight against images and scenes that were playing rapidly, overlapping each other. He grabbed both of Ace's shoulders, roaring into the other's face, "WHERE?"

"East Blue, Dawn Island." Ace breathed, fear evident in his eyes. He wasn't intimidated, it's just that the raw desperation was like a cornered animal, almost. He saw Luffy run up and grab Sabo's leg, trying to calm him down and failing.

Sabo's expression fell, eyes darkened and lips pursed. _That was where Dragon found him. **His** ship was blown up. **He** hated his noble family. **He... He was...!**_

He opened his mouth, the images slowing down.

" _I think..._ " he whispered hoarsely, voice shaky, " _I think I'm your brother..._ "

The world tilted sideways as he began to fall towards the floor, eyes unable to spot Ace's widened and teary eyes, nor was he able to hear Luffy's worried cries as one last scene tore away his attention.

* * *

 _"From this day on," said the freckled boy, lifting a small cup. The other boy looked excited, his smile wide and bright. He could feel his own cheeks aching because of how big his own smile was. All three of them lifted their cups, sake spilling over as they clinked them together._

 _"We're brothers!"_

 _"Yeah!"_

* * *

"Luffy! You're gonna miss breakfast!" called Nami, surprised that he was still in bed. It was rather late in the morning, and everyone was waiting for their captain to arrive, shocked that he was late.

She expected him to burst out of the door and take off towards the galley, but there was nothing but a small hiccup from inside the room.

Nami opened the door, letting out a hum of confusion when she took into account the two children in her captain's bed. As she was about to question the wayward raven, she saw tears leaking from his eyes as he cradled the paler of the two children, a blonde boy in noble's clothing.

"...Luffy...?" she called.

Said boy whipped his head up to look at her, and she was stricken with shock when she saw the wobbly smile on his face.

It appears her voice woke up the two boys beside him and they slowly rose into sitting positions. At least, the blonde one tried. Luffy's tears dried quickly as he smiled gently.

"Luffy, get off me..." he muttered, rubbing his eye with his free arm. The other boy paused for a moment as he realized that the floor is not supposed to be so soft, and stood quickly.

The blonde noticed something similar, as his kid brother would not be able to hold him like this, and that the weight was actually an odd hug from... a stranger?

Sabo yanked himself out of the older guy's arms and stood beside Ace, ready to fight. The room was a bit dark, so they couldn't see the guy's face.

"Ace, where's Luffy?" Sabo asked, peering around to see if he could find Luffy somewhere, ignoring the "Huh?" coming from the woman at the door.

"How the hell should I know?" Ace replied, worry itching in his chest.

The lady had seemingly turned on the light, however, and they immediately found out that Luffy was not in the room with them.

Ace turned on the teenager before them, growling, "Where's Luffy?" Then his voice died in his throat.

"Hm? What do you mean?" The guy sounded confused; he tilted his head. "I'm right here."

It was Sabo who responded. "...Luffy?"

* * *

 **Sorry if this sounds confusing!**

 **Also, DOUBLE CLIFFHANGER! HOW MANY AUTHORS HAVE ACHIEVED _THAT_?**

 **Oh, a lot?**

 **Okay...**


	4. Luffy Is Love

"...You know, that sounds like something Luffy _would_ say."

Ace rolled his eyes at Sabo, but still keeping his attention on the man of whom he was on the bed of.

"Sabo, don't be an idiot, of _course_ this isn't Luffy." Ace bit out, though he looked unsure. Not just anyone could be such an idiot, after all.

"Oi!" The man—(well, he was a boy, but he was older than them. They'd call him a teen.)—shouted, annoyed in such a way that only Luffy could, but more...controlled? Something like that. "I _am_ Luffy!"

"Prove it." Ace unintentionally spat, before he blinked and smirked. There wasn't any way that this _imposter_ could prove that he was Luffy. Ace could see Sabo sending him an approving glance.

The teen blinked, owlish eyes awfully reminiscent of their little brother's, before grinning and laughing the same way little Luffy did, shi-shi's and all.

Then he turned his head to the side, _and then behind him, and then **all the way around** **and...**_

" _HOLY SHIT!_ " " _WHAT THE FUCK?!_ "

"You idiot, you're scaring them!" the woman at the door shouted, bonking the teen on the head.

"But Nami! They told me to prove it!"

"You could have just pulled your cheek out like this!" the redhead screamed before pinching his cheeks and pulling them far away from each other.

"Ace, that's definitely Luffy. There's only one of each devil fruit in the world, he couldn't copy him even if he tried."

"How could it be him, though? The idiot was with us when we went to bed, and he sure as hell was _seven_ last time we saw him."

Sabo pursed his lips in thought. After a few moments of consideration, his eyes brightened up. "Where are we, ma'am?" he politely asked the girl whose name was apparently Nami.

"The Grand Line." she answered, face not showing an inch of the annoyance that she was demonstrating with the teen before her as she continued pummeling him.

The blonde nodded. "Alright, this all makes sense, now."

"What do you mean?" the raven inquired, skepticism thrown aside in favor of faith in his brother.

"It's the Grand Line. Weird shit happens here all the time. Haven't you heard shitty gramps when he was telling us about it?"

"Who listens to the shitty geezer, anyway? It's usually Marine-bullshit when it isn't Fists of Love and training."

"That's fair, but you need to know these things if you're gonna be a pirate."

"If I have you, why would I need to know?"

"Because I'm not always going to be able to help you!"

"I'll figure it out!"

Luffy, as the teen undoubtedly was, laughed despite the disappearing bruises on his face, effectively cutting off the argument between the two. "I missed you guys!"

"Missed? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, Ace is on this Whitebeard guy's crew, so I've only seen him once, and Sabo..." his eyes were sad, "...Sabo was blown up."

* * *

"Hey, Ace?"

"Yeah, Luffy?"

"Why didn't you recognize Sabo? If he's our Sabo, you should know what he looks like, right?"

"Uhm..." _Damn Luffy's random bursts of intelligence!_ Even when young, Luffy was still perceptive. "It's just... been a while, since I'd last... seen him." It was only a partial lie. it has indeed been a while, but that wasn't the reason.

"Then why didn't he know your name? Why didn't he know me? Does he hate me?"

Ace's eyes softened as he pet the little raven's head. The idea of either him or Sabo hating Luffy was damn impossible, no matter the circumstances. He was their irreplaceable otouto, after all.

"Sabo doesn't hate you. Neither of us ever could. Let's wait for him to wake up, then we can ask him why he didn't remember us, okay?"

"Mmm... Okay!" he let out a little 'shi-shi'. "Ace, can you take me to that fruit-head guy?"

"Fruit-hea... Oh, you mean Marco? Sure!" the older grinned, freckled cheeks pushing his eyes into happy crescents.

 _Ace smiles a lot here._ Little Luffy thought, _I like it when he smiles! I wish he smiled like this more often._

"Ace." The twenty year-old looked down at the younger who had his small hard wrapped around two of Ace's fingers.

"Yeah?"

"I like your smile, so keep on being happy, alright?"

Ace's heart warmed, his fruit humming along with his heartbeat. He ruffled the younger's hair. "How can I not, with a caring little brother like you around?"

Luffy laughed again.

 _I like your smile, too, Luffy._

And they were off to find Marco, Ace telling little Luffy about some of his adventures after leaving Dawn Island.

* * *

 **I hope young Luffy was in character. Probably wasn't, but he's a sweetheart so I want him to show it.**

 **Hope you enjoyed that bit of fluff. Sabo will wake up soon, don't worry. Also, I'm worried this chapter is badly written.**

 **Review-they give me life!**


	5. X Marks the Spot

**Don't hate me too much for this beginning here lol.**

 **Also, shoutout to DemonKittyAngel for being an amazing senpai to an idiot like me!**

* * *

It was to throbbing pain that he awoke. His eyes darted around, memories playing on loop and merging with the scenery around him.

 _Where was he?_

He grit his teeth when a phantom burning tore into his skin, _the smell of fire, of burnt flesh, of... of..._

He needed to find where out where he was.

And to make sure...

That Ace was okay.

* * *

"What the fuck is _that_ supposed mean?!" Ace's grip on his pipe tightened until it squeaked.

"Ace, calm down! Don't get mad at Luffy over nothing!"

Luffy gazed down at them fondly, a sad smile too small for his usually wide-grinning face. "You always were the nicer one back then, shishi."

"Again with the 'back then' stuff! Explain, moron!" Sabo, smiling smugly at Ace, wrenched the pipe from his raven counterpart's hands, tapping him in the shoulder with it for good measure before turning to Luffy, who giggled merrily at the display that was once so familiar to him.

"Hey, Luffy, could you explain how I got, uh, 'blown up'?" the blonde asked, hoping that his wording wouldn't result in a vague answer from Luffy.

"I didn't actually see it." Luffy says, to which Sabo and Ace both let out a relieved sigh. "But Dogra did! And when Ace and Dadan came home after the fire, he ran in and told us that your ship got blown up by a Ten-burrito. So Ace got mad and Dadan smashed him into the floor and said that the world killed him! And I was so sad, and Ace got tied to a tree."

"...I'm so glad we understand Luffy-speak by this point."

"I think it's an old language called 'Idiot', spoken only by things like Luffy. Careful, his species has a disease that can affect your intelligence, since stupid is apparently contagious."

"Ace, be nice."

"I thought you wanted me to be myself."

"Can't you try to be both?"

"You damn well know the answer to that."

Sabo sighed exasperatedly, "I do."

A moment of silence (if you didn't count Luffy's laughter) passed before Sabo practically fell forward as he jolted, staring at Luffy with shock and disbelief.

"Wait, did you mean a Tenryuubito?!"

"That's what I said!"

"No it—that's not the point, Luffy! I can't believe I got blown up by a world noble!"

Ace's eyes lit up with realization before they darkened. "Luffy."

"Yeah?"

"Sabo died." It wasn't said like a question, but Luffy knew to answer.

"Yeah."

Ace took no time to close the space between him and his younger brother, grabbing the older's collar and dragging him down to his height.

"Where was I?! I wouldn't have let this happen if I was there; _where was I?!_ " Luffy's lips tremble a bit as he smiles—a weak, bitter stretch that conveyed none of the usual happiness that exuded from him.

"There was a fire. The nobles burned down Gray Terminal, and Bluejam almost killed us. Dadan saved me an' Ace but Sabo was taken by his dad, so he was stuck in High Town. And then when Ace came back, Sabo was dead."

Ace would have hit him and told him to speak like a normal person, but the explanation sobered him and cooled his hot temper as he deciphered the situation. _A fire, huh?_

Sabo cleared his throat, drawing attention to himself. "So, what's the Ace of this time like?"

Ace's eyes brightened up, looking up at Luffy for the answer.

"He's super strong! He ate the Mera-Mera no Mi, so he's made of fire! He's so cool!"

Ace glowed in pride, loving the adoration and awe from his brother, even if it was about his older version, it was still him.

"You said he joined the Whitebeard Pirates, didn't you? The strongest man in the world's crew... What's his bounty right now?"

"Hmm... Can't remember." Luffy thought on it for a second, then snapped his fingers. "I have his Wanted Poster hanging up in the aquarium, I think! Let's go!"

It took a moment before they realized that Luffy ran off, but they were luckily able to catch up to him before they got lost on the ship.

It was as they entered the room Luffy darted into, laughing along with the echoes of 'shi-shi's, that they lost their merriment.

Luffy's small and disbelieving voice practically was practically a whisper. They processed the sound around the same time they registered the amount of blood staining the floor. Luffy was on his knees, staring at the man who looked back up at him with shocked eyes.

"Ace...?"

* * *

Blue eyes burned into the ceiling, self loathing welling up and spilling over as his pent-up anger spilled out in a destructive punch to the bedside table nearby. It's wood cracked and the vase of flowers that once stood upon it tumbled down and broke. The sound of breaking glass fell upon deaf ears.

 _How could I forget? How could I forget my most important people? My brothers?_

Blond hair was being threatened of getting torn out. He dug his fingertips into his scalp. He clawed for a moment, then dropped his arms and bit his lip, holding back his tears.

His breakdown was interrupted by a knock. Not a moment after the sound was heard did the door get shoved open and Luffy ran in and jumped onto his lap.

"Sabo, you're awake!" Luffy put his small hands, _small and delicate and weak little hands,_ onto his cheeks, making Sabo pucker his lips slightly and look like a fish. He stared into his eyes.

"Why are you sad? Did you have a nightbear? Did it steal your meat during your dreams?" Luffy looked so distraught from that thought that Sabo didn't know if he should laugh or comfort him. "It's okay! Me and Ace will bring Sabo a loooot of food, including meat! So don't let a big dumb bear make you all sad, okay!"

Sabo smiled as well as he could with two hands squishing his face. His eyes sparkled with warmth and he almost wanted to cry again.

 _Dammit, Luffy's supposed to be the crybaby! Even his seven year old version was doing better at not crying!_

Sabo's attention was drawn by an amazing smell wafting through the still-open door. After a moment, a cart passed through, with Ace pushing it from behind. It was filled entirely with food for him and his brothers to eat.

And the fact that he was going to eat it with his brothers made Sabo consider it as the best meal he'd ever had in his life.

* * *

"Marco!" Thatch called, alarm in his voice.

The phoenix, having followed the chef down into the dimly lit and "spooky" storage room upon Thatch's request, ran towards the direction he'd shouted from, his pace fast.

His flames illuminated the area more than Thatch's weak lantern did. And perhaps that's why he didn't step closer; he only pulled the brunet back. Further away from the almost lifeless body.

An X-shaped section of burnt skin and blood glimmered in the light, along with the whites of the body's eyes and the tears that continued leak despite his unconsciousness.

"...Ace..."


	6. All Around Insanity

**Haha, I'm loving the responses I'm getting so far.**

 **And the timeline may seem confusing, but you all shall see where this goes. *evil cackle***

* * *

Their mealtimes were always a ravenous affair—a fight for food. Despite the fear they felt towards their grandfather, they followed his advice on eating religiously. Although, for the elder two, they needn't concern for their safety, as much as it had become habit after an amount of time of doing so.

Of course, Luffy was more of a vigorous eater than either of them, and he still out-ate them on a bad day. Even as a seven year old, this still held true.

Ace began to wonder about how big Luffy's appetite was now. His bounty came out recently, so he should already have gone out to see him, but then Sabo had come around.

It was odd to Ace. He'd accepted the death of his best-friend-turned-brother so long ago— _ten years ago!_ —and yet, lo and behold, here he was. Springing up out of nowhere as the Second-in-Command of the Revolutionary Army. And he supposed it was all thanks to the little raven-haired boy that was failing to steal food from him and the object of his introspection.

Luffy had always had a knack for making miracles happen. Ace thanked all the gods that he didn't believe in the existence of for allowing a person like him to have such an amazing little brother. He couldn't imagine life without Luffy. Though, he could probably have said the same about Sabo at one point.

No, those thoughts were wrong. It was different. Sabo didn't need him, but Luffy did. Luffy always needed to be protected, and he and Sabo would always do so for him. Never vice-versa. And if they were to fight, it was all three of them or none.

"Sabo."

"Yeah?"

"You suck."

"Rude." The blonde snorted, rolling his eyes. Whoever said Ace was polite clearly hadn't spoken to him much. He fended Luffy off from snatching a piece of meat, flicking him on the forehead and shoving more food into his mouth just to spite the little one.

Luffy's pout almost made the two give him more, but they stared directly at one another to avoid his gaze.

Once their meal was finished, Luffy wrapped his small hand around as many of Ace's fingers as he could (which was not many, despite his ability to stretch). He tugged the befreckled 20 year old onto the bed with him and Sabo. Taking the hint, the man sat himself down and allowed Luffy to lay across his and Sabo's laps for a nap. Ace could feel the haze of his narcolepsy kicking in, and was soon folded over Luffy protectively whilst snoring softly.

Sabo chuckled at the sight. He eased himself out of bed, lifting the covers from his corner to cover the two while doing his best not to jostle either of them, even as he moved his legs out from under Luffy.

He picked up the plates scattered all around the area and placed them on the cart, pushing it over to a corner. Deciding to get a breath of fresh air, he began his navigation through the hallways of the Moby.

He closed his eyes to reminisce for a moment, a smile on his face. If it weren't for the sudden appearance of Luffy, he'd be back at the Revolutionary Base, not having remembered anything. Would he have ever remembered his brothers?

 _It doesn't matter now._

He shook his head and opened his eyes.

"Eh?"

It appeared as though he'd ended up further below in his quest to get upstairs. It wasn't until he heard hurried footsteps that he really processed that, though.

Marco the Phoenix and a chef were running in his direction, likely to use the stairs up, but there was something in the other blond's arms that made him pay extra attention.

As the two passed, he found himself turning on his heel, following them swiftly.

That...

...Was that Luffy?

* * *

"Ace..!"

"Luffy?" the dark haired man sputtered and coughed violently, his hoarse voice grating on his throat. His entire body was covered in dirt and bruises. Smoke wafted slightly from his back, and the smell of burnt flesh permeated the air.

Ace and Sabo watched over the scene grimly, confused and worried.

Luffy turned to them with serious eyes and took a shuddering breath. "Stay here. I'm going to go get Chopper."

Luffy ran as fast as he could without using Gear Second, despite wanting nothing more than to do so, to get help faster. But Chopper would waste time worrying about his lifespan before he'd be able to explain that _his brother has a probably-fatal wound_.

Ace and Sabo stood stiffly, staring at the man who was turning his head from side to side, taking in his surroundings with utter surprise. And then their eyes locked.

"S-Sabo? And-And Me? What the hell is happening right now?" He whispered to himself, only to choke on some of his own blood and then have to cough it out.

Ace was the first to speak to the older man, of course.

"Are you... older me?"

Sabo sighed at the lack of tact.

The wounded man wheezed out a laugh mixed with a sob as he threw his arm over his eyes, "Is the afterlife supposed to be so cruel? Not only do I see Luffy again, but Sabo, and myself, of all people. No wonder people are afraid of hell."

Sabo exchanged looks with Ace. He moved forward, cautiously—the muscles on the man's body were not just for show, after all—and put his hand on his shoulder, a sign of comfort. His body tensed up, ready to move away if necessary, and he almost jumped away when the man turned his desperate eyes towards him.

There was a beat of silence.

Luffy had returned just then, a small reindeer-raccoon thing in his arms as he dashed into the room.

Luffy skidded to a stop in front of the trio, placing the animal down, who'd then begun his check-up.

The animal was looking worried at first, but freaked out as soon as he caught sight of the man's back. Sabo and Ace peered over his shoulder to look at the damage.

A large, burned area indenting inwards. Blood pouring out. A ruined tattoo.

The reindeer-raccoon grew in size to look more like a furry, large man, grabbing the raven man and running off. "I'm taking him to the Medical Bay!" Luffy looked ready to follow him, but he turned his head to them.

"He'll be okay." He said, more to himself than to them.

They nodded anyway. He motioned for them to follow him, and they did so, unease pouring from them and mixing with the quiet and foreboding air surrounding Luffy.

They were mildly surprised when Luffy led them to the kitchen, rather than the medical bay. Had the mood been different, if things weren't so grave and _off_ , they'd have made a comment on Luffy's focus on food even during hard times.

They went from mildly surprised to utterly dumbfounded and extremely worried when Luffy put a large amount of meat and an assortment of other foods in front of them and sat off to the side, staring into the air blankly.

A blond man walked over afterwards, half smiling to put them at ease.

"So you are the younger Ace, and Sabo, that Nami-swan told me about. My name is Sanji, I'm the cook of this ship."

"Nice to meet you, Sanji-san."

"What he said."

"Same to you two. Don't mind the shitty captain, he's been worried about Ace since we left Thriller Bark. It's better that we found him injured and alive rather than never and dead, honestly."

Ace and Sabo didn't know how to react to someone calling their younger (—even when he's older, he's still their younger brother. Always, no matter what—) brother 'shitty', but they considered it similarly to Ace's calling him a crybaby: a term of an endearment.

"Why was he worried?" Sabo found himself asking, eyebrows creased.

"He got this paper thing from Ace all the way back in the beginning of the Grand Line, called a Vivre Card.—" ("Is the beginning of the Grand Line called a Vivre Card or is he talking about the paper?" "Obviously, the paper. Anyway! Shut up and listen, Ace.") "—The state of the paper would indicate the status of the person and their life force. It was burning in his hands right as we found out what it was. So, he's rightfully been on edge for awhile."

"Is he going to be okay?" Ace found it odd to refer to himself in third person, but he and the man being taken care of were different.

 _Both of them continue to worry me, and Luffy, especially. Really, they aren't different at all._ Sabo snorted to himself in bemusement. _Even after ten years, he doesn't change._

"Our cute little doctor is taking care of him, so I wouldn't worry. Luffy's got the soon-to-be best on his crew. Can't have any less on the future Pirate King's crew, y'know?"

"He held onto that dream?" It wasn't surprising. Luffy became their brother through persistence and utter stubbornness. Truly, even if it took him one hundred years, Luffy would become Pirate King, because Luffy made things possible.

"Acting on it, too. He's been saving countries and people all around. We even kept the islands in the sky from being decimated by their own narcissistic 'god'."

"Sky islands? You're not shitting us, are you? Actually wait, you guys took down a god? This is confusing!" Ace turned to Sabo, "Sabo, translate!"

The young blonde sighed, "I don't know either."

"Luffy was the one to take him down, by the way. He had a lightning Logia Devil Fruit, so Luffy was the perfect match for him. And then he smacked him into a bell made of gold, we stole a bit, and then had to get back down in an octopus balloon." Sanji blew out some smoke, laughing a bit. "Good times!"

"Now I know you're shitting us."

Further conversations were stopped before they began, as Luffy shouting in the corridor caught their attention.

"Who are you?!"

They looked at each other before heading over to his location warily.

* * *

"Who are you?!"

"Huh, strange, this isn't where I expected to be."

"Don't ignore me!"

"Oh, sorry. What did you say, again?"

"Apology accepted!" Luffy crossed his arms, "So, who are you?"

"I dunno, who are _you?_ "

"Dammit, I asked first!"

"And I asked second."

"That makes sense." The raven shrugged. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy, the future Pirate King!" His grin lit up his features.

The man in front of him chuckled, "Not the first time I heard that. You remind me of someone." Wait, no he didn't. At least, he didn't think Luffy did. No, he'd never met this boy before. "Well, Luffy, it's nice to meet you. My name is Sabo."

 _...Wait, hold up._

"Are you, by chance, related to a Monkey D. Dragon?"

"Oh, yeah. You're talking about my dad, right?" _Welp, that answers that._ Now it was Luffy's turn to pause. "You said your name is Sabo?"

"Yeah."

 _Not the weirdest dream I've ever had, but definitely up there._

"Cool, you have the same name as one of my older brothers. Actually, Sabo from the past is back there. Wanna meet him?" Luffy pointed a thumb behind him.

"That doesn't make any sense, but okay."

 _Strange dreams can't hurt me, so what's the harm?_ Sabo thought.

Young Sabo and Ace rushed over, followed closely by Sanji.

"Me?" both Sabos exclaimed, pointing at themselves.

 _Okay, I'm getting a headache-dreams shouldn't hurt like this._

Luffy started laughing. "I don't know what's happening."

Sanji breathed out a puff of smoke. "Me neither, Captain."


End file.
